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Close References and Analysis of 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley
Close References/Quotes and Analysis of 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley, organised by theme.
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Theme FrankensteinReligion Frankenstein is compared with God as his ambition leads him to oppose religion as he
thinks “a new species would bless me as its creator” and he “animate[s] the lifeless clay”
and actively seeks to play god
- The fact he finds his creature is hideous could be that Victor cannot achieve
perfection as he is not a God.
- On the other hand, Frankenstein expresses how no one less than a God would be
able to endure the appearance of his monster as “no mortal could support the
horror of the countenance” – Someone would have to be immortal or a god in
order to bestow their eyes upon the creature without being immediately
disgusted
- Victor uses the body parts from different dead bodies – some religions may think
this means they cannot move into the afterlife and make it to heaven. Here Victor
is playing God as he chooses what happens to them after they die
The creature is compared to Adam
- The monster imagines his female companion and there’s an implicit desire to
create a new race like him
The creature is compared with Satan
- “Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition like him
when watching de lace’ the bitter gall of envy rose within me” : - like Satan, he is
excluded from human life and envies its happiness. Satan’s unhappiness is caused
by his alienation from his creator, God. The Monster is accusing Frankenstein of
playing God by creating him. Because the creature isn’t made by God, he could be
seen as imperfect and more like ‘Satan’
- He then destroys DeLacey’s house in a fire, hell, Satan destructive like “forked
tongues” of fire, as his alienation turns to anger
Shelley warns about going against religion
- Victor, towards the end of the novel, returns to religion and positive interpretation
of religion and believes that he still has a chance with heaven despite going
against God - ironic as he also has links and references to the devil: “I join
Elizabeth and my departed friends”
- It is not accidental that the reader now learns the narrator's last name
Frankenstein for the first time. This serves to depersonalize him and to distance
him from the reader, thus signifying the abyss of experimentation into which he
will soon fall. Indeed, "Frankenstein" can be seen as a separate persona, the
embodiment of the narrator's god/scientist self (as distinct from the culpable
humanity represented by "Victor").
Religious imagery is used to highlight the differences between men and women.
- Frankenstein as the figure of Enlightenment whilst Elizabeth remains in an archaic
stereotype of an ‘angelic’ figure. Ideas about how men could progress in society
whilst females were still held under a male or societal gaze. : “Her hair was the
brightest living gold” “… a child fairer than a pictured cherub” “a distinct
species, a being heaven-sent" “… her celestial eyes”
Shelley highlights how impactful religion is on peoples lives and how it can lead to
downfall
- Catholic beliefs influenced Justine to confess to the murder. The belief in the
afterlife being more meaningful than the present was a strong religious belief of
the time.
- Religion can further be seen as oppressive in the sense if one does not conform
then it can lead to a subsequent downfall. In VF case since he tried to create life it
ultimately leads his scientific career to suffer “cup of life poisoned forever”
Could be emphasising the positives of paganism and to reject the traditional Christian
belief
- Mary Shelley shows Paganism vs Christianity in multiple ways through
, Frankenstein. The creature being healed and nourished by nature is a very pagan
belief and references when humanity couldn’t look after the creature nature
provided. Frankenstein often calls onto religion out of desperation rather than out
of choice or desire, this could like to religion is so institutionalised and mandated
that people don’t choose to believe they just do by default never actually learning
about what they are meant to be believing in.
It is interesting that, whilst Victor is the Monster’s creator, it is the Monster who holds
the most power
- An interesting reversal of the relationship between God and mankind in Christian
tradition
Family/Mother and Victor is seen as a bad father figure for the monster and emphasises the need for
Fatherhood motherhood
Supernatural The supernatural does not appear in the traditional sense (i.e., mystical, magical beings
etc.), but rather as something that is of a scientific, man-made origin
- Shelley starts by describing the "dim and yellow moon," and then compares it to
the monster's "yellow skin." Which establishes a relationship between the
creature and the moonlight, leading the reader to connect the monster with
darkness and evil, and therefore with the paranormal.
The Other Shelley uses the monster to question the violence that people face as a result of others'
discrimination based on their differences and their appearance.
- Shelley offers a horrific depiction of the creature by describing his “yellow skin”
and “black lips” which established a vivid, uncanny image of the monster and
rendering him as different and repulsive to others – leading him to become
isolated. Shelley addresses what is thought of as ‘monstrous’ in humanity, and
whether it is because they are in a position between life and death (which is linked
to the liminal) or truly because he seems peculiar and belongs to the ‘others’.
Transgression/ Shelley cautions discovering forbidden knowledge and uses Victor as an example as he
Forbidden seeks control over the very principle of life and aims to do this by resurrecting a being
Knowledge made from assembled dead body parts.
- This is forbidden knowledge, and he pays the price for his excessive desire for
knowledge by having the monster kill the majority of his loved ones.
- Likewise, Robert Walton attempts to surpass previous human explorations by
endeavouring to reach the North Pole - Whereas Victor’s obsessive hatred of the
monster drives him to his death, Walton ultimately pulls back from his treacherous
mission, having learned from Victor’s example how destructive the thirst for
knowledge can be
Doppelgangers Shelley depicts the creature as a monstrous character, yet this also reflects
Frankenstein's monstrous nature.
- His abandonment of the creature is undoubtedly as monstrous as the horrifying
murders the monster undertakes, exemplifying the perspective that the creature
is Victor's doppelgänger.
- Shelley's intentional subversion of the Gothic norm of establishing a clear
boundary between good versus bad by avoiding revealing the identity of the
virtuous character.
Shelley presents the creature to be sympathetic and harmless despite his appearance,
whereas Victor is presents to have no redeeming qualities and appears to be fully
monstrous
- “A grin wrinkled his cheeks” - Portrays the monster to have almost childish and
innocent qualities presenting him as less predatory than he may seem
Shelley portrays her characters to have qualities of the potential to be both good and
evil
- The De Lacey’s' story illustrates both the goodness and evil of which mankind is
capable more importantly, it shows the way in which each person may be capable
of both good and evil. Felix's strong sense of justice leads him to aid the merchant;
his love for his family draws him back to Paris, despite the fact that he knows that
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